PO Box 2127, OAK PARK, Victoria, 3046 EAST WEST LINK COMPREHENSIVE - PDF document

PO Box 2127, OAK PARK, Victoria, 3046 EAST WEST LINK – COMPREHENSIVE IMPACT STATEMENT PLANNING PANELS VICTORIA PUBLIC HEARINGS April 9, 2014 SUBMISSION INTRODUCTION The Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek was established in 1989; formerly being known as the Moonee Ponds Creek Association. The objectives of our organisation are: To ensure the preservation, restoration, environment protection and ecologically sensitive development and maintenance of the Moonee Ponds Creek and adjoining catchment areas. The objectives of our Creek ‘colleague’, the Moonee Ponds Creek Co-ordination Committee (MPCCC) is similar, adding at the end, as underlined: To ensure the preservation, restoration, environment protection and ecologically sensitive development and maintenance of the Moonee Ponds Creek and adjoining catchment areas, with a long term aim of securing a major regional park with significant recreation and conservation value. These objectives formalise and build on a long history of community involvement, and with government and other authorities, to enhance the Creek corridor, seeking to move away from hard engineering solutions, to improve its natural resources and increase public open space and biodiversity along the corridor. Additionally, the MPCCC seeks to link these in a linear regional park along the Creek. The proposed East West Link (EWL) is a reversal of such enlightened thinking and strategic direction. This presentation will concentrate on the destruction and detriment the EWL would cause along the lower Moonee Ponds Creek, both physically and to our long term objectives. STRAGEGIC DIRECTIONS The East West Link goes against every strategy for responsible land use and environmental planning. All aspects will be affected: land use, vegetation, habitat and biodiversity, visual amenity, noise and air emissions, water quality, soil contamination and heritage. 1

Such strategies were detailed in our written CIS submission (#528) and are listed below: • City of Melbourne Municipal Strategic Plan 2013 • City of Melbourne Open Space Strategy 2012 • City of Melbourne Arden-Macaulay Structure Plan 2012/Am C190 • Moonee Valley Municipal Strategic Statement 2013/Am C134 • Moonee Ponds Creek Concept Plan 1992 • Moonee Ponds Creek Strategic Plan 2011 • Healthy Waterways Strategy, Melbourne Water 2012 Plan Melbourne 2013 can be added to this list, where Direction 5.2 states: As the city continues to grow and change, it is critical that we continue to plan and deliver an integrated network of accessible open space and natural habitats that meet the needs of residents, workers and visitors, while adequately protecting native flora and fauna. and Initiative 5.2.2 states: One of the five objectives of Melbourne’s Water Future 1 is to protect the environmental health of our urban waterways and bays . As stated above, an objective, shared by the Cities of Melbourne and Moonee Valley, for the Moonee Ponds Creek is to create a linear regional park with recreational and environmental values along the Creek corridor. We see the linkage of the following open spaces along the Creek as part of this: − Holbrook Reserve − Ormond Park − Essendon Community Garden − Children’s Playground − Essendon Hockey Centre − Travancore Park − Delhi Reserve − Debneys Park − Racecourse Rd to Macaulay Rd − Macaulay Rd to Arden St − South of Arden St We already have CityLink blocking open space/linear parkland on the eastern side of the Creek’s southern reaches. The EWL would effectively destroy or compromise the linking of open spaces/parkland along the western side and the recreational and environmental values and opportunities. On the northern reaches, north of Racecourse Road, the EWL would take out vegetation and open space along the Creek corridor and impose visual, noise/air emission and amenity impacts on the Moonee Valley parks, reserves, playgrounds and sporting areas. 1 “ Melbourne’s Water Future”, Office of Living Victoria, Dec 2013 2

IMPACTS A number of submissions have addressed the impacts of the EWL along the Moonee Ponds Creek corridor. I shall not repeat but would like to emphasise specific issues. Arden Street to Macaulay Road These photos show the established plantings along the western side of the Creek. The plantings were undertaken from 2001, following the failure of the CityLink plantings. The North & West Melbourne Association, MPCCC, Greening Australia, Transurban/CityLink and the local community were involved in the replanting project. Since then plantings have continued under the auspices of MPCCC and Friends groups. Plant selection has been in accordance with the indigenous revegetation guidelines for the Creek 2 . They are not 2 “Moonee Ponds Creek Corridor Revegetation Guidelines”, David Chynoweth (2000) 3

‘amenity’ plantings as asserted in Linking Melbourne Authority CIS consultants Brett Lane & Associates’ report 3 , but are in keeping with Melbourne Water flood control spacial requirements. This section of the Creek is enjoyed as open space by local residents and workers and the City of Melbourne plans to build on this as set out in its Open Space Strategy and Arden- Macaulay Structure Plan. The proposed EWL double viaducts will obliterate the plantings on the western side of the Creek and with them, the habitat and biodiversity values, open space amenity and biolinks along the Creek … and their contribution to a future linear park. The ‘horror’ pictures tell the story: ‘Before EWL’ Kensington Association ‘After EWL’ Kensington Association 3 East West Link (Eastern Section) Comprehensive Impact Assessment – Flora, Fauna and Aquatic Ecology. Brett Lane & Associates P/L. Report 213135 (1l3), Feb 2014. 4

The proposed Arden St off-ramp would encroach further into the Creek waterway with additional pylons and overhead road structure. This additional infrastructure would add to the domination and overshadowing of the waterway and the denial of aquatic improvements. Linking Melbourne Authority expert witness Brett Lane during his Panel presentation suggested that shade-tolerant plants/exotics could be planted under the freeway structures. Shade-tolerant plants would not grow without an environmentally irresponsible permanent watering system (noting Creek water is partially saline in this tidal reach). Exotic plant species would not be in keeping with the Creek’s indigenous species planting guidelines. The likely outcome is what can be seen under CityLink on the other side of the Creek: cont. 5

Macaulay Road to Racecourse Road The East West Link would replace: ‘This’ with ‘This’ Linking Melbourne Authority The vegetated western banks along this section include five mature River Red Gums ( Eucalyptus camaldulensis ), considered to have regenerated from remnant stock or brought by flood waters in times past. The EWL viaducts and construction works would likely see their removal or long-term viability severely compromised. 6